Jury Convicts Olmsted County Employee of Reporting Bogus Attack

Rochester, MN (KROC AM News) - An Olmsted County employee has been convicted of filing a bogus police report about an attack in his office.

An Olmsted County jury returned its verdict Friday evening against 52-year-old Rick Freshwater after hearing testimony this past week.

He was convicted of a misdemeanor charge of falsely reporting a crime. Because of the low nature of the conviction, Freshwater was sentenced immediately. He was placed on probation for one year, ordered to perform 20 hours community work service and pay $285 in fines and fees.

Police were called to the county’s office building at Graham Park around 5:00 PM on Oct 3, 2016, in response to Freshwater’s 911 call. Freshwater - a county worker for more than 25 years - told police he was at his desk in a secure section of the building when he was attacked from behind and was cut several times by an unknown object. Freshwater was transported to St. Mary’s hospital where he was treated for non-serious injuries.

Investigators said he was not able to provide a description of the assailant and, while the building was equipped with security cameras, they were not connected to a recording device.

A criminal complaint was filed several months later that said investigators found a homemade weapon at the scene and the only DNA on it came from Freshwater.